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Hardware and Windows Vista Hardware issues in relation to Windows Vista. (microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices) |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
I rescued my computer from a house fire.
I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
Take it to a technician.
"Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to
diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
"Lee Beck" wrote in message
... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Lee Re your network cable problem.. If the NIC is integrated, get hold of a 'brand new' PCI NIC and try it in one of the spare slots. If it doesn't work, suspect a non-functional PCI slot caused by excess heat or Vista isn't working properly. -- Mike Hall - MVP How to construct a good post.. http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups.. http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc Mike's Window - My Blog.. http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
If any smoke got into your computer and did get it working, you could be
facing a load of mysterious failures in the future. Carbon conducts, and with expansion and contractions due to heat cycling, there could be hundred of circuits making and breaking all over the place. Carbon is extremely hard to remove from the surface of circuit boards without a complete board removal, chemical cleaning, and strategic parts replaced. Do yourself a favor and use the time else ware. Besides, your insurance company already paid for it, didn't they? -- Regards, BobF. "Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message ... "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Lee Re your network cable problem.. If the NIC is integrated, get hold of a 'brand new' PCI NIC and try it in one of the spare slots. If it doesn't work, suspect a non-functional PCI slot caused by excess heat or Vista isn't working properly. -- Mike Hall - MVP How to construct a good post.. http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups.. http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc Mike's Window - My Blog.. http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
Thanks to everyone for thoughts and advice. On the insurance questions,
yes, it's likely that I'll get some reduced replacement cost for the lost hardware. But we all know that it's the time and thought that went into the data that is frequently more valuable than the hardware. But those are all discussions for another arena. On the questions regarding the physical damage. Yes there was some heat distortion of outside plastic parte and LOTS of soot on the inside. In my attempt to recover from the damage I disassembled down to the mainboard, used a paintbrush to remove most of the visible soot, and compressed air to clean what I could find of the rest. I really expected to attempt a restart and get nothing or to throw the PS circuit fuse on first try. That may actually have been best rather than the tease if it is truly ruined. but to my surprise it booted to the "keyboard failure" screen, so I purchased a keyboard and mouse, continued, and without doing a lot of testing, it appeared to be okay. Desktop looked the same as before the fire and AI was able to access files on all 3 HDDs. So I figured that I'd purchase a new machine and use the traumatized one as a spare after I recovered the data. First I needed the Internet, and that's when I experienced my first problem. But I know that these things can be tricky so I'mm still thinking that my inability to connect may be the result of things other that fire damage to the computer. The ethernet connection is part of the MB on the Dell E510. I'll continue to try to establish that first step of determining if the messages that I'm seeing are software or hardware related. Thanks forthe advice, though. I was hoping that there is a simple DOS test or something that could diagnose the hardware apart from my Vista that seems to be behaving badly. However, many of my programs still work (e.g., graphics and sound software). "Bob F." wrote: If any smoke got into your computer and did get it working, you could be facing a load of mysterious failures in the future. Carbon conducts, and with expansion and contractions due to heat cycling, there could be hundred of circuits making and breaking all over the place. Carbon is extremely hard to remove from the surface of circuit boards without a complete board removal, chemical cleaning, and strategic parts replaced. Do yourself a favor and use the time else ware. Besides, your insurance company already paid for it, didn't they? -- Regards, BobF. "Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message ... "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Lee Re your network cable problem.. If the NIC is integrated, get hold of a 'brand new' PCI NIC and try it in one of the spare slots. If it doesn't work, suspect a non-functional PCI slot caused by excess heat or Vista isn't working properly. -- Mike Hall - MVP How to construct a good post.. http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups.. http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc Mike's Window - My Blog.. http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
In a former life, I was a service manager for a professional, industrial video
equipment sales and service center. We would repair soot and smoke damaged electronic equipment by soaking the circuit boards in ordinary dish detergent and water for a couple of days, scrubbing with a toothbrush, rinsing thoroughly, and letting dry for a week. You'd be surprised at the great number of units that were successfully salvaged this way. I Bleed Blue and Gold GO BEARS! "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... Thanks to everyone for thoughts and advice. On the insurance questions, yes, it's likely that I'll get some reduced replacement cost for the lost hardware. But we all know that it's the time and thought that went into the data that is frequently more valuable than the hardware. But those are all discussions for another arena. On the questions regarding the physical damage. Yes there was some heat distortion of outside plastic parte and LOTS of soot on the inside. In my attempt to recover from the damage I disassembled down to the mainboard, used a paintbrush to remove most of the visible soot, and compressed air to clean what I could find of the rest. I really expected to attempt a restart and get nothing or to throw the PS circuit fuse on first try. That may actually have been best rather than the tease if it is truly ruined. but to my surprise it booted to the "keyboard failure" screen, so I purchased a keyboard and mouse, continued, and without doing a lot of testing, it appeared to be okay. Desktop looked the same as before the fire and AI was able to access files on all 3 HDDs. So I figured that I'd purchase a new machine and use the traumatized one as a spare after I recovered the data. First I needed the Internet, and that's when I experienced my first problem. But I know that these things can be tricky so I'mm still thinking that my inability to connect may be the result of things other that fire damage to the computer. The ethernet connection is part of the MB on the Dell E510. I'll continue to try to establish that first step of determining if the messages that I'm seeing are software or hardware related. Thanks forthe advice, though. I was hoping that there is a simple DOS test or something that could diagnose the hardware apart from my Vista that seems to be behaving badly. However, many of my programs still work (e.g., graphics and sound software). "Bob F." wrote: If any smoke got into your computer and did get it working, you could be facing a load of mysterious failures in the future. Carbon conducts, and with expansion and contractions due to heat cycling, there could be hundred of circuits making and breaking all over the place. Carbon is extremely hard to remove from the surface of circuit boards without a complete board removal, chemical cleaning, and strategic parts replaced. Do yourself a favor and use the time else ware. Besides, your insurance company already paid for it, didn't they? -- Regards, BobF. "Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message ... "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I'm working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can't do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I'm just trying to diagnose the big question - is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn't accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Lee Re your network cable problem.. If the NIC is integrated, get hold of a 'brand new' PCI NIC and try it in one of the spare slots. If it doesn't work, suspect a non-functional PCI slot caused by excess heat or Vista isn't working properly. -- Mike Hall - MVP How to construct a good post.. http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups.. http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc Mike's Window - My Blog.. http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
A mate of mine still does it; good old dishwashing liquid detergent!
-- Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia "Cal Bear '66" wrote: In a former life, I was a service manager for a professional, industrial video equipment sales and service center. We would repair soot and smoke damaged electronic equipment by soaking the circuit boards in ordinary dish detergent and water for a couple of days, scrubbing with a toothbrush, rinsing thoroughly, and letting dry for a week. You'd be surprised at the great number of units that were successfully salvaged this way. I Bleed Blue and Gold GO BEARS! "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... Thanks to everyone for thoughts and advice. On the insurance questions, yes, it's likely that I'll get some reduced replacement cost for the lost hardware. But we all know that it's the time and thought that went into the data that is frequently more valuable than the hardware. But those are all discussions for another arena. On the questions regarding the physical damage. Yes there was some heat distortion of outside plastic parte and LOTS of soot on the inside. In my attempt to recover from the damage I disassembled down to the mainboard, used a paintbrush to remove most of the visible soot, and compressed air to clean what I could find of the rest. I really expected to attempt a restart and get nothing or to throw the PS circuit fuse on first try. That may actually have been best rather than the tease if it is truly ruined. but to my surprise it booted to the "keyboard failure" screen, so I purchased a keyboard and mouse, continued, and without doing a lot of testing, it appeared to be okay. Desktop looked the same as before the fire and AI was able to access files on all 3 HDDs. So I figured that I'd purchase a new machine and use the traumatized one as a spare after I recovered the data. First I needed the Internet, and that's when I experienced my first problem. But I know that these things can be tricky so I'mm still thinking that my inability to connect may be the result of things other that fire damage to the computer. The ethernet connection is part of the MB on the Dell E510. I'll continue to try to establish that first step of determining if the messages that I'm seeing are software or hardware related. Thanks forthe advice, though. I was hoping that there is a simple DOS test or something that could diagnose the hardware apart from my Vista that seems to be behaving badly. However, many of my programs still work (e.g., graphics and sound software). "Bob F." wrote: If any smoke got into your computer and did get it working, you could be facing a load of mysterious failures in the future. Carbon conducts, and with expansion and contractions due to heat cycling, there could be hundred of circuits making and breaking all over the place. Carbon is extremely hard to remove from the surface of circuit boards without a complete board removal, chemical cleaning, and strategic parts replaced. Do yourself a favor and use the time else ware. Besides, your insurance company already paid for it, didn't they? -- Regards, BobF. "Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message ... "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I'm working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can't do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I'm just trying to diagnose the big question - is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn't accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks Lee Re your network cable problem.. If the NIC is integrated, get hold of a 'brand new' PCI NIC and try it in one of the spare slots. If it doesn't work, suspect a non-functional PCI slot caused by excess heat or Vista isn't working properly. -- Mike Hall - MVP How to construct a good post.. http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups.. http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc Mike's Window - My Blog.. http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx |
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Serious Hardware or OS Problem?
It really depends on what degree of exposure the computer and peripherals
had. If any circuitry got wet you might as well trash those parts. Smoke contaminated water is highly acidic and any circuitry that was exposed to it can corrode very quickly. If you can save your data off of the harddrive (onto another PC) you'll have got off lucky. Anything saved beyond that is a bonus. IMO of course. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... That response could go to every post here. What I'm trying for is to diagnose the major problem myself, with the help of expertise from the newsgroup community. The computer is a Dell Dimension E510, which I paid about 1000 for a couple of years ago. I'm hoping that I won't need to trash it. I'll try to figure out how bad it is first. If I determine, with the help of whatever I learn from forums such as this, that the hardware is seriously compromised, I'll replace it. However, it may be a software (Windows) problem that can be repaired with the right care. An added advantage to self-diagnosis is that I get smarter. If I take it to a technician I'm out the lost time to deliver/pickup and whatever expense to diagnose and fix it. And I still have a questionable computer. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote: Take it to a technician. "Lee Beck" wrote in message ... I rescued my computer from a house fire. I was pleased that after cleaning it up it recognized my drives. I had to move and get a new DSL carrier, so I got a new gateway from them and also replaced my mouse and keyboard. The first problem that I encountered was that I could not get the setup.exe file to activate for the MSFT hardware CD, but I did get the mouse/keyboard working (w/o the MSFT software on the CD). Next, I figured that I'd connect to the Internet. My computer did recognize the setup executable on the setup CD and I was able to begin installing the gateway modem. On the step where I installed the Ethernet cable my computer crashed and shut sown. I have been able to reboot, but am experiencing all sorts of problems never experienced before like not able to access Control Panel or System Restore. Also, I was never able to connect the modem to the computer (I’m working from my notebook computer now). Because my computer is acting so strange, I clicked on My Computer. The information bar at the bottom shows the correct microprocessor and memory. But if I right-click on Properties the window returns Processor: Not Available; Memory (RAM): Not Available; Computer Description: Not Available. My Vista install CD was destroyed in the fire, so I can’t do a repair from that (if needed). At this point, I’m just trying to diagnose the big question – is my computer ruined or is my OS terribly out of whack (maybe from the aborted/botched installations)? Is there some way to do this? I have MS OneCare that initially worked (I turned off the firewall to try the DSL install) but now isn’t accessible. Any help is appreciated. Thanks |
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